Joint efforts on climate needed

The extreme weather around the world recently, from the blizzards in the United States to the sweltering heat wave in Australia, further verify the previous predictions that hurricanes, floods, droughts and other natural disasters will become increasingly frequent worldwide.

Reports published by the World Meteorological Organization and NASA both show that, based on modern meteorological records, last year was among the top three years with the highest recorded temperature after world average temperature hit a new high for three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016.

More and more studies prove that global warming is the result of greenhouse gas emissions and it is altering the frequency, intensity and duration of extreme weather. For example, the latest freeze in North America was mainly because of the narrowed temperature gap between the Arctic Pole and the mid-latitude belt as a result of rising arctic temperatures, which has weakened the arctic region's ability to control the polar vortex and caused it to more conveniently flow to lower-latitude regions.

However, ever since the first claims that climate change is being propelled by human activities, there have been those that doubt it or seek to deny our activities are the chief culprit for global warming. Those who cast doubts over the widely accepted conclusion, however, are those whose interests are threatened by this truth, such as those with interests in traditional energy enterprises.

Extreme weather events have become increasingly frequent, inflicting serious damage on the world economy, ecosystems and human health. Statistics show that from 1980 to 2013, 87 percent of world's natural disasters and more than 70 percent of global economic losses were directly related to such extreme meteorological conditions as draught, flood and low temperature. A recent US government report indicates that the economic losses caused to the US by hurricanes was $306 billion in 2017 alone.

The US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement announced by President Donald Trump has added uncertainties to joint global efforts to tackle climate change. Facing such an unprecedented sense of urgency, all countries should join hands to take action before it becomes too late to act.

- XINHUA NEWS AGENCY